By Sarah NEGEDU
The FCT Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board has been commended for its coordination of the screening exercise for intending pilgrims ahead of the 2025 Main Christian Pilgrimage to Israel and Jordan.
Head of Special Duties at the Nigeria Christian Pilgrims Commission, Olatunji Adetoye, gave the assessment on Thursday, during the first phase of the administrative and medical screening held in Abuja.
Adetoye said most of the intending pilgrims presented by the FCT were “very matured, focused and serious minded about what they are about to achieve,” noting that the coordination of the exercise reflected professionalism and strict adherence to guidelines.
He applauded the Board for fully implementing operational recommendations earlier agreed upon with the NCPC.
“The NCPC and FCT Christian Welfare Board, we are always having a good working relationship and I must say the board has done very well. They have all the necessary information they need to get, and all the ideas and suggestions we discussed were put into practice,” he said.
Adetoye rated the FCT’s screening arrangement at 95 percent, saying: “Because we always give room for improvement, I will grade the board 95% for the well organised screening exercise.”
He further explained that the Commission expects intending pilgrims to approach the journey with spiritual seriousness.
“Today’s assessment, we discovered that most people who presented themselves for screening are very matured, focused and serious minded about what they are about to achieve. We thank God for today and the calibre of people presented.
“We expect people to present themselves as good ambassadors of Nigeria. People who are still in doubt, when they have the privilege to see and walk the path where Jesus walked, there are things that change in their life both spiritually and physically and It causes genuine repentance and renews your belief in God almighty even without anyone monitoring or checking you.”
Speaking during the exercise, the Director of the Board, Gloria Dandam, said the FCT Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board has strengthened its internal procedures to ensure that only medically fit, spiritually grounded and properly documented pilgrims make the final list.
“For 2025, right now we’re just screening. This is the first screening. We’re going to have a second screening before the journey… It’s not everybody that has come for screening that will qualify to travel,” she explained.
Dandam said the stages of the screening were deliberately designed to protect pilgrims.
“When you come, there’s a registration desk. You register… After that, you queue in for the medicals. Your BP is checked. Your sugar is checked. They ask you what drugs you are on so that if we need to bring certain drugs that we’ve not been using to travel before, we’ll now purchase more.”
On safety, she said the board works closely with NCPC, medical personnel and spiritual leaders.
“Israel is one of the safest countries to travel to because no matter the wars they have and their battles, they are still the most secure country in the whole world. As you enter their country, they know you. So of course, we’re very secure except if you’re going there with a different mind to do something else, then they’ll pick you up.”
She added that pilgrims travel in smaller buses “so you can easily know who is who and know the problem anybody has so that you can tackle it,” with pastors and security personnel attached to each group.
Over 200 intending pilgrims were screened on Thursday, with others arriving with fresh forms as the exercise progressed. Dandam said the Board will determine the final list of qualified pilgrims after completing all stages of the screening.
